1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for teaching and evaluating footwork routines. More particularly, the invention relates to footwear with a sensor system in communication with an evaluation processor to generate feedback regarding footstrike patterns.
2. Description of Related Art
Home systems for personal training and fitness have become increasingly popular, especially in learning new activities and techniques. For example, video and DVD training systems for activities ranging from dancing to yoga are readily available from any retail video or DVD outlet. These systems teach basic postures and movements, often by showing an expert practitioner perform the routine slowly and then at speed.
Similarly, in live classes for physical activities, typically a single instructor teaches a group of students the proper positions and movements for the activity. Visual aids are often provided to assist the instructor in demonstrating footwork routines. For example, footwork charts for standard foot placement and position changes in ballroom dance have long been used to reinforce live demonstration of the movements. However, whether learned in the privacy of a home or in a studio with a group, students may not have access to an instructor to review the student's movements at all times during a routine. Therefore, the student and the teacher may find determining whether a student is performing each step in the routine appropriately difficult. With at-home study, instructor feedback is an unavailable luxury. Additionally, the motivation provided by an enthusiastic instructor is also unavailable to users of at-home systems.
Several systems have been developed to provide cues to a user during the performance of a routine involving body movements. For example, the Nike+iPod Sport Kit wirelessly links a sensor placed in an article of athletic footwear, a Nike® running shoe, with a music player, an Apple iPod®. The processor in the iPod gathers footstrike information from the sensor in the article of footwear and uses that information to generate statistics regarding the runner's workout, such as distance and calories burned. Optionally, the iPod generates spoken feedback regarding the progress of the workout, for example a voice may be generated giving the time elapsed, distance run, calories burned, or similar statistics.
However, none of these systems provides real-time evaluation of a user's footwork performance compared to a baseline target performance. Additionally, none of these systems teaches using ongoing comparisons to help the user to evaluate his or her progress in learning the target performance.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a system and method for automated evaluation of activities which involve precise timing and positioning, such as dancing, martial arts, and yoga.